Publication Date: 26-09-2025 09:00
Local football team opens new sports pitch at Worksop development
Young players from a local football team helped open a new multi-use games area (MUGA) at a housing development in Worksop and immediately staged a training session on the pitch.
Members of the SJR Worksop FC Under-12s Yellows team were invited to celebrate the unveiling of the all-weather surface at Bellway’s Gateford Quarter development and enjoy free ice-creams as a treat.
Bellway East Midlands established a relationship with the team last season, when they were the Under-11s Yellows, when the housebuilder agreed to sponsor the team for two seasons. The £1,032 it paid has been used to buy a new full home kit and training jackets for all 13 members of the squad. The Bellway logo features on the front of the playing shirts.
Allan Edwardson, assistant coach for the Under-12s at SJR Worksop, said: “We were honoured when Bellway asked us if the team would like to come along to help open the MUGA.
“The team was very excited and it allowed us to get an impromptu light training session in before the game the next day. The players had a kickabout and stopped for unusual half-time refreshments of ice creams, straight from the van. As coaches we thought it was important for us to show solidarity with our team, so we had an ice cream too.
“Seriously though, this is a fantastic new facility which will bring great benefits for all the local children. There are some youngsters who live at Gateford Quarter who play for the club and thanks to Bellway, they, and anyone else who wants to, will be able to kick a ball about in all weathers.”
SJR Worksop FC, which plays its home games at QTC Rockware Stadium off Sandy Lane, has 993 players on its books and runs 46 teams. It has men’s and women’s adult teams, a thriving junior section from Under-7 to Under-15, including boys’ and girls’ sides, and a veterans’ team.
The housebuilder first linked up with SJR Worksop FC when it invited women and girls from the club to cut the ribbon at the launch of the Spinner showhome in June 2023, which features a bedroom inspired by the England Lionesses’ victory in the Women’s Euro 2022 final.
Bellway East Midlands Sales Manager Heidi Higgins said: “We are very proud of our strong and ongoing relationship with SJR Worksop FC. It’s a fantastic grassroots club which gives hundreds of local people – men, women, boys and girls – the chance to play the game they love and is a real social focus for the local community.
“It was great to invite the Under-12 Yellows along to help us open the new MUGA which will be a tremendous facility for the local area as it can be played on in all weathers. It’s a versatile space as it can also be used to play netball and basketball for those who prefer to throw the ball about rather than kick it.”
Bellway is building a range of two, three and four-bedroom houses at Gateford Quarter. For more information visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/east-midlands/gateford-quarter or call the sales team on 01909 238173.
